and he had been inside syria before. he and his crew were grabbed after crossing into northwest syria last thursday. there had been no communication with them, no contact, no ransom demands. they were thrown in the back of a truck, bound and blindfolded, although, not physically harmed. then, yesterday, the captors were moving them to a new location, they were stopped at a rebel checkpoint. there was a confrontation. and then, the firefight broke out. in that firefight, two of the captors were killed and several others escaped. but richard and his crew were rescued. the syrian rebels then drove him to the border to safety. all are in good health, fortunately. george? >> thank goodness for that. what do we know about the group that took them hostage? >> we know very little about the group. but they were not believed to be loyal to the assad regime, nor were those who rescued him. there's so many rebel groups in that area. this was kept quiet because richard is a very high-profile reporter. and they did not want to increas